Google Gets Even More Mobile-friendly

The initial Google Mobile-Friendly Update (also known as Mobilegeddon) happened in April of 2015.

But in 2016, Google expanded on this with “Mobile-Friendly 2.” This was basically a ranking signal boost that rewarded mobile-friendly sites on mobile search.

Although the impact wasn’t nearly as significant as the first update, it shows that those who make efforts to accommodate mobile users should definitely see the fruits of their labors.

Penguin Becomes Part of Google’s Core Algorithm

Penguin made quite a stir when it was launched back in 2012. This was the update that primarily targeted black-hat SEO tactics and penalized sites who used unscrupulous link building schemes in an attempt to climb the rankings.

And while Penguin has had a considerable impact on SEO for several years, Google took it one step further and “rolled out an update to the Penguin algorithm in all languages.”

According to the Google Webmaster Central Blog, Penguin is now in real-time, meaning changes occur much more quickly than they used to.

Besides this, it’s more granular where “Penguin now devalues spam by adjusting ranking based on spam signals.”

So the bottom line is that we should being placing a bigger emphasis than ever on creating outstanding, high quality content.

If you’ve been using any technique that could be considered black-hat (even with the best of intentions), you need to ditch it immediately.

Long-Form Content is Your Way to the Promised Land

In my opinion, one of the more interesting phenomenon of 2016 is the trend where long-form content consistently outranked shorter posts.

It’s a little hard to see the details because the font is so small, but the data suggests that things like the average time spend on a site, daily unique pageview, Facebook click-through-rate and bounce rate all play a role in positioning in SERPs.

More specifically, the average time spend on a site is a major factor.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s important to note that Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller said, “I don’t think we even see what people are doing on your website” and “so from my point of view, that is not something I’d really treat as a ranking factor.”

It’s hard to dispute that there’s at least some level of correlation between user engagement and rankings. Therefore, it’s something that should definitely be on your radar.

Click-Through Rate has at Least Some Impact on Rankings

Here’s another interesting little tidbit from the same post on Search Engine Watch.

A website’s click-through-rate (CTR) appears to have some level of impact in a controlled test environment.

Here’s what I mean:

By examining this data, there’s no denying the correlation between a higher CTR and higher rankings.

After all, the sites that reached the number one spot had an average CTR of 18.2 percent, while the ones that averaged the number 10 spot only had a CTR of 1.04 percent.

Due to the fact that CTR is so gameable, Google can’t exactly make it a straight up ranking factor. However, it’s definitely clear that the higher your CTR is, the better.

Page Load Speed & Experience for Mobile Site Matters

Another thing you’ll notice in the graph above is that page load speed is just behind average time spent on side in terms of signals that currently correlate strongest with higher rankings.

And according to Gary Illyes of Google, “the speed of your mobile pages currently doesn’t impact your mobile rankings, but soon it may, says.”

Illyes went on record to say that “Google will be updating the page speed ranking factor to specifically look at the page of your mobile pages when it comes to the mobile-friendly algorithm.”

While the details are a little murky, it’s safe to say that having fast loading mobile should be a priority in 2017.

Conclusion

2016 was no doubt a wild and woolly year for SEO.

While there weren’t any algorithm upsets as big as, say, the original Penguin or Panda, there was still lot going on.

With several different algorithm shakeups and patterns emerging, it’s important to take notice when developing your game plan for 2017.

E-Commerce is a huge online industry that commands a huge amount of revenue in the digital marketing space. E-Commerce industry experts anticipate that worldwide E-Commerce sales will reach $1.915 Trillion in 2016 alone. Ensure that your E-Commerce business is getting your share of the revenue pie, and check out these industry-leading blogs that focus exclusively on E-Commerce! Inside this list is the link to each blog, a rich description of why this blog is important and what you can expect from the blog and its content. In no particular order and without further adieu, our list:

1.Shopify — Shopify is an E-Commerce platform that offers rich content for anyone with an E-Commerce store. Their blog topics range across all industries and include detailed blogs and how-to blogs about content, analytics, marketing, and selling online. If you have a store that is not doing well or if you want to start an E-Commerce site, this is the place to go. This is also a place for any E-Commerce merchant to find resources for nearly every problem you might face.

2. Econsultancy — The Econsultancy blog is data driven and they help you understand what all of “that” means. When it comes to marketing and analytics, this blog moves your forward without giving you a headache. Expect blogs on topics such as the variety of Email styles for Black Friday, stats on major marketing events and occasions. If you have a site that needs to sharpen its marketing drive, then this is the blog for you.

3. HubSpot — The HubSpot blog is full of savvy sales conversion and lead generation information. Expect content that is geared to help you identify sales tools, marketing strategy, and marketing/sales opportunities. They offer two robust blogs that cover marketing and sales topics. If you need to find ways to understand the sales process or how sales and marketing relate, then this is the site for you. Expect 1-10 blogs per day with outstanding content.

4. A Better Lemonade Stand — A Better Lemonade Stand is the go-to source for big names and other E-Commerce companies. This is a place that is dedicated to helping people succeed by showing how to build the best site, what to do before you launch, how to grow, and how to sell. Expect content that is suitable to all levels of E-Commerce with a range of topics from beginners to masters.

5. BigCommerce — BigCommerce is a big name in the E-Commerce space, and it’s no surprise that their blog is home to some of the most cutting-edge and relevant content pertaining to the E-Commerce industry. Expect to find industry studies, data analysis and trends, and best practices articles & how-to’s to keep your E-Commerce site in top shape.

6. Zippy Cart — The Zippy Cart blog offers current topics on E-Commerce. They don’t publish often, but their content is deep and beautifully detailed. Expect topics to include tips on boosting sales, growing your store, finding the right audience, and writing product descriptions that work. This is a great site for all levels of E-Commerce and especially so for those with an existing site.

7. social triggers — social triggers is the brain child of Derek Halpern who is a master marketer and a genius E-Commerce blogger. Expect a ton of information including free eBooks and blogs that are both entertaining to read and educational too. This is a beautifully written blog with posts ever two weeks. If you are looking for deeper knowledge about creating content for your site, increasing your audience, and how to spot opportunities to sell then this is the blog for you. It’s worth a visit if only for the chuckles.

8. Traffic & Sales — Traffic & Sales is an outstanding resource that touches on topics that not many other E-Commerce blogs do. This is the place to come to learn how to increase traffic and sales. Their approach is unique, intelligent, and instantly applicable to your E-Commerce problems. Expect topics like easy ways to shoot product photos. These are not just passing conversation but eBook length blogs that go deep. This is a perfect blog for the newer E-Commerce site owner and those with million dollar sales.

9. Backlinko — Banklinko is the creation of mastermind Brian Dean who shows you the inside secrets of SEO and backlinks. His approach is simple, educational, and helps E-Commerce sites grow their audience using whitehat SEO. This is a blog that is beautifully written and perfect for anyone who is confused about SEO, content, and linking. Well worth the read.

10. Store Growers — Store Growers is a deep pit of quality marketing advice, how-to blogs, and a simplified approach to Google, marketing, and selling. This is the perfect blog for people who are doing well with their E-Commerce but seem to be stagnating. Learn how to grow your site, your audience, and your revenue without the need for a PhD. in marketing. Expect blogs about emerging tools, practices, and tips.

11. Blue Stout — Blue Stout is a place to come when you need inspiration. Their blog is a mixture of how-to content and praiseworthy success stories with a deeper back story that helps you apply the tricks that others have used to succeed. This is a blog for those who feel discouraged, lost, and who think they are not capable of success with E-Commerce.

12. Bootstrapping Ecommerce — Bootstrapping Ecommerce is a variety blog that ranges over the entire topic of E-Commerce. This is a wonderful site for anyone who wants to delve into E-Commerce or for those who want to find helpful content including infographics for best practices. Expect topics to include SEO, how to manage your blog and PPC for starters. Perfect for the mid-level entrepreneur or beginners looking for insider knowledge.

13. PracticalEcommerce — PracticalEcommerce is a robust blog that offers a range of topics that span marketing and conversion within the E-Commerce mindset. Expect as many as three blogs per day on topics that address common E-Commerce issues like whether or not to rebuild or start over, strategies for ads on Amazon, social media, and innovative ideas for marketing. This is an excellent spot for anyone who has an E-Commerce site but is not sure which direction they need to go.

14. GetElastic — the GetElastic blog is widely diversified across many levels of E-Commerce. Their content is vast and sorted by categories such as digital commerce, multichannel, social media, etc. This is the place to go when you need rich content on specific topics and across all user levels. Perfect for everyone.

15. KissMetrics Blog — Kissmetrics Blog is robustly filled with quality content that takes you deep into optimizing and marketing for E-Commerce sites. Expect a new blog weekly if not more frequently. Their topics range from Email to SaaS and other tools that help automate customer conversion, target building, and master dips in your market. If you have a site that is doing okay but you want to move it to the next level, then this is the place to come.

16. Fizzle — Fizzle is the home of Sparkline which was formally known as ThinkTraffic. The blog is updated every two-five days with quality content that is centered around helping E-Commerce entrepreneurs. Their topics range from outsourcing to growing a productive Email list. If you are looking for ways to improve what you do, this is a good place to start. Their content is appropriate for all levels of readers.

17. Convert — Convert is a powerful site and blog for anyone who needs to determine product and marketing strategy. The blog is richly populated with topics that cover conversion, the creation of content, and measuring marketing successes and failure. Expect new blogs on a weekly basis, and plenty of tips on creating engaging content for product descriptions, marketing, and even the use of images. If you are struggling with reaching your customer base then this is the blog for you.

18. Help Scout — Help Scout is an E-Commerce business that focuses on developing and providing customer service tools. Their blog offers topics that range from improved security to video creation and developing quality customer service. This is the site to come if you need to improve your approach to customer service or if you want insider information about available products that help build happy customers.

19. Nerd Marketing — Nerd Marketing is the brainchild of Drew Sanocki and his site takes you deep into the how-to behind successful E-Commerce. Expect articles that address all levels of E-Commerce from startups to mega-sites. In addition to blog posts, readers have access to podcasts that address strategies that help grow E-Commerce businesses.

20. eCommerceFuel — eCommerceFuel is a community that is not available to everyone. The requirements to join the site are that your E-Commerce site be turning 6-7 figures. If you qualify expect a robust blog, podcasts, and live events. Their blog is focused on member stores, that provide helpful advice, and a huge article base that is educational and on topic for E-Commerce and digital marketing.

Looking for Great eCommerce Digital Marketing Agencies or Experts?

Our Top Local Agency Marketplace now includes agencies who specialize in a variety of industries and verticals, including eCommerce! Find high-quality agencies you can trust for any project, no matter the size or complexity. Check out our Top Local Agency Marketplace list for eCommerce Agencies!

Do you know a great eCommerce Marketing Agency? Nominate them today!

Our agency marketplace is growing every single day, thanks to small business owners across North America! If you have worked with an agency that provides service that goes above and beyond, nominate them for inclusion in our agency marketplace today!

Google’s Penguin Update has changed link-building strategies across the board. Here is a bit of information about the update and how it may affect your Google rankings:

What is the Penguin Update?

The Penguin Update was designed by Google to help identify websites that were trying to spam their way to the top of rankings. Many site owners were reaching for the pinnacle of marketing success by purchasing links or getting them through trade-a-link networks. Penguin was designed to discourage these illegal maneuvers.

What changed?

The Google Penguin Update has two main components. The first is that Google Penguin runs in real time, so site reviews move with the clock. This is great news for every marketer who started off with a poorly devised SEO plan filled with unhelpful backlinks and lackluster content. With Penguin running in real time, sites can escape their dreary ranking past and start fresh. Yes, second chances really do exist. Sites can regain their ranking footing by removing bad links and spam-a-licious content.

The second element of the Penguin Update is an increase in ranking penalties for poorly placed page-level content and keywords. The new updates help Google inspect sites with a fine-toothed comb instead of just raking the surface with a pitchfork. Still, ranking penalties from Penguin’s site inspection are nothing new. The punitive progression just continues. What this means for the average Joe Marketer is that now even individual links may be considered as site rankings are assigned. As long as you follow Google’s advice, your rankings should continue to float in the right direction.

What about the old?

These new updates will continue to work in conjunction with the other factors that Google already used to rank a website. Now that Penguin and Panda are components of Google’s algorithm for ranking, the degree that individual factors affect your site rank may have slightly changed. If ranking were a letter grade and you would have received a B+ in the past, now your site may be closer to an A-. Still, the specifics of changes in ranking factor weights are a part of the Google mystery—at least for now.

Looking for a heads-up when it comes to future changes?

If you are sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next update, you may be surprised to learn that in the future, Google will no longer issue notifications of Penguin changes. Instead, Penguin will update automatically as Google interacts with the internet. The tweaks that will occur over time won’t be announced.

How should the Penguin Update affect your SEO strategy?

Your links are still considered during the digital making of ranking decisions. However, it’s important not to focus solely on your links when it comes to your SEO practices. As you strategize to skyrocket your site to the top of rankings, keep your eye on content value.

Google views sites that have a natural link flow as more valuable and rank-worthy. For instance, if you have tons of links within a website of only a few pages but there is no mention of your site on social media, Google may view this as a bit suspicious. Are your links legitimate? However, if your site has awesome content and editorial links scattered among a variety of other sites and social media, the likelihood of your site being valuable to internet users is higher, and Google will reward the value with a higher ranking.

So, when it comes to links, they are still as important as ever. Nevertheless, they are single factors among the many that Google will consider throughout the ranking process. To maximize your marketing efforts, you’ll need great links, but they are only one ingredient in your perfect internet marketing mix.

So, what do you need to do to strategize effectively since the Penguin Update?

Links are the lifeblood of online marketing. Not only do they drive people directly to your site, but a large number of high-quality links will improve your Google Search rank, bringing in even more visitors. When posted by an unreliable site, however, links can harm your rank, causing you to lose customers and even incurring a penalty for “unnatural links.” Eliminating harmful links is thus just as important as encouraging good ones.

Removing bad links is difficult and time-consuming, but Google’s disavow tool allows you to monitor and remove them, causing them to have no effect on your rank. Through the following steps, you can quickly protect your site from harmful traffic:

1. Locating the Links

The first step in getting rid of unnatural links is to obtain a list of all the active links to your site. To do this, log into Google Webmaster Tools and select your site. Click on “Search Traffic” from the dashboard, and then select “Links to Your Site.” Click on “More” under the “Who links the most” button. You will see several download options; click on both “Download more sample links” and “Download latest links.” The files that you download will have a record of all the pages with links to your website.

2. Simplifying the Search

The list of links to your site will almost certainly be too long for you to investigate each one, so the next step is to organize and simplify that list. The most effective way to do this is to copy the links into a spreadsheet and separate them by domain name, placing each domain in the same row. If a link from spamhub.com/magazines is harmful, it’s likely that links from spamhub.com/books and spamhub.com/videos will be as well. Thus if you make a list of domain names to investigate, you can disavow the vast majority of harmful links more quickly than if you checked the links one by one. Organizing the links by domain name will also eliminate the problem of duplicate links, or links from the same page, which often slow down the search process.

In addition to domain name, it also makes sense to organize the links by how recently they occurred. The more recently a domain has linked to your site, the more urgent it is to disavow it, as recent links suggest an ongoing problem. The file you received when you clicked on “Download latest links” will contain dates for each of the links.

3. Debating Disavowal

Once you have listed and organized all of the links, you must visit each domain name and assess its quality. Before each decision, consider:

Intent– Why was the link posted on this site? If the site had an incentive to host your link other than relevance, Google will lower your search rank.

Effectiveness– How likely is it that people who click on this link will actually become your customers? If the links send people to your site who aren’t likely to benefit from it, Google will penalize you for the mismatch.

Image– Would you want customers, competitors, or Google employees to find this? If your first instinct is to hide the link, you should disavow it.

While it is possible to reinstate a link that you have disavowed, it takes a long time and can deprive your site of valuable traffic. You should thus never disavow a link unless you have good reason to think that it’s harmful.

4. Ultimate Upload

When you have determined all the links to disavow, create a new text document and list all of the links there, reserving one line for each link. If, as we recommend, you are disavowing by domain name, type “domain:” and then the link with no spaces. If you want to leave instructions or information for Google employees, type a “#” and the information on a separate line. The final text will look like this:

domain:spamhub.comdomain:shadyspace.com# do not confuse the following with sketchee.comdomain:sketchy.com

Save your file and then open the disavowal page from Webmaster Tools. Click on your website, select “Disavow links” and then select “Choose file.” Upload your text document. Google will immediately begin to disavow the sites.

Christian Sculthorp highlights how registering on Google “My Business” page, building links to your website, and building citations can boost your website rankings in Local SERPs.

Mobile Optimization:

Rachel Jones highlights the importance of Geofencing, a location-based mobile service that helps businesses to target consumers in strategic geographical areas of interest with enticing offers about their business.

Reputation Management:

Heather Bonebrake discusses how monitoring the first page of Google’s SERPs and maintaining transparency when dealing with negative reviews can help monitor your Online Reputation.

Search Engine Optimization:

Mike Tomita highlights the importance of creating a mobile optimized site and optimizing your visitor’s mobile experience from a mobile SEO perspective.

Learn how identifying and providing answers, to common questions for which people seek answers can improve your SEO rankings from Melanie Green’s blog.

Follow the tips from Ben Lobel to get your small business started with SEO.

Building a strong link profile can be difficult, especially considering recent changes to Google’s search algorithm. Some may go as far as to ask: Is link-building still relevant in SEO? If so, how has the “rules” changed? Moving forward in 2017, what can you do to improve your link profile get rid of the potentially toxic links that are dragging your ranking and your user experience down? Let’s look at 5 tools to develop a strong link profile for 2017.

Zadro’s SEO Auditor

Use Moz’s Page Authority (PA) & Domain Authority (DA) to determine the authority of inbound links. Use Zadro’s SEO Auditor to get an even better picture. Typically the higher number the better, but this isn’t always the case. This is a great free option that gets you moving in the right direction and helps you determine if you need invest in the heavy hitters.

An SEO auditor will help identify where inbound links are coming from and what the quality of that link is. If there’s one thing that Google’s impressed upon us in recent years, it’s that quality trumps quantity. Key word stuffing , link farming, creating inbound links from anyone and anywhere just won’t win the day. Search Engines are getting smarter as they evaluate what makes worthy content. They will only get smarter, so links from sharing, authority and other top resources will become the prize.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a great tool for link building and just knowing what’s going on in general with your brand, competitors, the industry. Their Site Explorer tool gives you a detailed backlink profile for any URL or website. Evaluate the strength of their backlinks, who links to the site, what anchors are used. This software gives you a snapshot but allows you to track growth over time with advanced filters and reporting so you have the information you need at your fingertips.

SEMRush

SEMRush allows you to gain in depth insight into the backlinks of you and your competitors. Compare and analyze. Understand the referring domain’s authority for both your site and the sites of others. Check backlink types. Improve geolocation. In the furthering of quality over quantity, you will evaluate the number of links. Is the site becoming spammy? Are there links from irrelevant sites? It may be time to purge the toxic waste, for a more quality link profile.

BuzzStream

If you have trouble developing a routine, Buzzstream may be the answer. Buzzstream helps you prioritize your most influential and and important contacts, schedules followup. Establishing and maintaining relationships is huge when it comes to link building BuzzStream helps you stay organized and on top of things so your link profile never falls behind.

Moz Open Site Explorer

Moz Open Site Explorer is all about discovering opportunities and taking advantage of them the right way. Uncover the toxic links lurking on your site and eliminate them. Develop a plan and build quality links based on actionable intel.

Build a Stronger Link Portfolio

We all want the quick fix. We’re looking for that string that sends the website to the top. But an essential piece of the strong link puzzle is the actual content. Without it you’ll be working hard not smart and your “pyramid scheme” will collapse and likely move you to the “hate” column with Google. Invest in high quality content. Information should be engaging and informative. It should entertain and inspire. People should want to link to it. The higher quality your content, the higher quality links you will earn from social media, online publications, news sites, etc. as they use your content to support their objectives. Earn quality links by giving people what they want. But develop a strong link profile to help people discover that you’ve got just what they’re looking for.

It’s been another busy month at UpCity, and in November we’ve added even more to our Top Local Agency Marketplace to continue making the marketplace the best possible resource for small business owners to connect with high-quality digital service providers in their local area. Here’s what’s new in the Top Local Agency Marketplace this month!

Top Local Agency Marketplace Expands to 17 New U.S. Markets

Since the launch of our Marketplace, we’ve received an overwhelming amount of feedback from both agencies and small business owners on how we can continue to improve. One of the most common requests we receive from agencies is for the creation of new lists in smaller markets around North America. You’ve asked, we’ve listened, and today we’re launching new Web Design lists in 17 new markets:

We encourage agencies across North America to continue to provide feedback on other markets for expansion in the future, so don’t be shy! If you’d like to see a marketplace list for your city, drop us a note at info@upcity.com.

More Than 1,000 New Profiles

Since launching the Top Local Agency Marketplace, we’ve seen an unprecedented response from agencies submitting their profiles for consideration in our marketplace. In October alone, we’ve added more than 1,000 new agencies and profiles to the marketplace, giving small business owners more choices than ever when it comes to choosing a local digital marketing vendor they can trust.

Coming Soon: Agency Reviews

Anyone who has shopped online can tell you: online reviews are one of the most important factors taken into consideration when making a purchasing decision. We’ve worked to improve our marketplace with the inclusion of our ranking algorithm and methodology to ensure we’re putting the best agencies possible in front of small business owners, and we believe adding the ability to leave and assess reviews from real, verified customers is another great step towards making our marketplace even smarter. We are working to have reviews incorporated by the end of Q4 2016, just in time for the new year!

Nominate An Agency for our Top Local Agency Marketplace

Are you interested in getting your agency listed in our Top Local Agency Marketplace, or are you a small business owner looking to nominate an agency you know and trust? Begin the nomination process and profile creation below!